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  No matter what the state of the economy, there are always reasons to make extra money. You may want to use the spare cash to buy a new car, save for something big like a wedding or house or for everyday spending. The good news is you can easily earn money without having to get a full time job.
  
  

Sell Your Skills

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  When you have a specific skill, it makes it easier to make extra spending money. That is because you do not have to learn a new skill or step out of your element. To earn money you just need to get the word out that you are selling your services. You can use online classifieds, the local paper or flyers in local businesses to advertise. A skill such as the ability to sew, knit, write, work on computers, personal fitness trainer, repair electronics or any other trade can go a long way to make spending money on the side.
  
  

Have a Garage Sale

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  A garage sale was enough to raise the state of California $1.6 million dollars; it should be good enough to raise a few extra dollars for the average household. It requires some minor effort, planning and a weekend's time. Gather your unwanted, unused and could live without household items and put them up for sale. Promote the sale in local newspapers, on local websites and around town with signs.
  
  

Babysit

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  Making money as a babysitter can be one of the easiest ways to make some extra cash. If you have kids of your own or have experience with kids you can easily offer your services to friends, family members, coworkers or community members. Parents need sitters for everyday services, weekend and evening care and special occasions. The amount of money you make will depend on where you live, who you babysit for, for how many kids, how old the kids are and what other services you provide such as cooking.
  
  

Use Coupons

• While cutting coupons is not technically earning money, using coupons will allow you to have extra spending money. There are a few ways to get coupons. They can be found in your local Sunday newspaper, in a coupon book or magazine, they are printed at the store when you buy certain products, and can be printed from product websites. To get more value from the coupon, purchase the coupon item when it is on sale and shop at locations that double the coupon value. It helps if you stock up on an item when you can combined a sale and coupon so the product will last until it is on sale again. While the savings from one coupon may not be significant, the combination of several coupons and sale prices add up. It does take some work to find and cut the coupons, to organize them and to match them to sales. You are in essence earning extra spending money.